“Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov and Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov are spending two days in Paris shortly after Moscow and Paris signed a deal for Russia to purchase two French Mistral-class amphibious assault ships.” This follows a deal where Germany has agreed to build a military training center in Russia, to train Russian troops.
The EU, like other major world powers (the U.S., China, Britain, France), has interests in the Caribbean. Three years ago, the EU signed the Economic Partnership Agreement with the Caribbean Community and the Dominican Republic.
Following President Obama’s visit to Britain and his encouraging rhetoric that “Britain is America’s closest ally,” this week “Washington signed on to a draft declaration on the question of the Malvinas Islands [Falkland Islands] passed by unanimous consent by the General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) at its meeting in San Salvador. In doing so, the United States sided not only with Buenos Aires, but also with a number of anti-American regimes including Hugo Chavez’s Venezuela and Daniel Ortega’s Nicaragua.”
China’s booming economy and massive population are looking for places to invest. Experts expect Chinese takeovers of European companies will greatly increase by 2020. From 2003-2005, Chinese investment in Europe totaled just $853 million. From 2008-2010 the number jumped to almost $40 billion. China now controls 118 European businesses, with the backing of the Chinese government.
America’s nuclear watchdog organization recently reported that Iran now has the nuclear material for four nuclear bombs—twice the amount they were thought to possess.